Annie Louise Cary (1841-1921)

Born in Maine, Annie Louise Cary, an operatic contralto, became one of the first U.S. contralto to achieve international fame. In 1868 she made her European debut in Copenhagen, as Ulrica in "Un Ballo in Maschera." Using the name Mademoiselle Cari, the vocalist debuted at London's Covent Garden as Orsini in "Lucrezia Borgia." In Cary's U.S. operatic debut, she sang Frederick in "Martha" at the New York Academy of Music in 1871. Cary's greatest roles were Azucena in "Il Trovatore" and Amneris in "Aida." The vocalist also shone on the concert stage, performing in the U.S. premieres of Verdi's "Requiem," Bach's "Magnificat," and Bach's "Christmas Oratorio." Cary excelled in her grand delivery of tragic music. With an exotic black hat perched low on her forehead and an embroidered wrap over her shoulder, Cary poses at the Sarony studio in New York.